Missing You
by aroseofmanyleaves
Summary: Richard Whitman insults Karen one time too many, and Rob can't help but get involved, and Janeece wins a very important bet with Tom because of what happens as a consequence. Karen/Rob, because I love 'em.


Richard stormed right up to her, towering over her threateningly, two inches taller than her meagre height. She backed away slightly, stumbling, her mind being incinerated by both fear and anger. Slowly taking several steps back from his frightening demeanour, she crashed painfully into the wall of her office, hitting her hip on the radiator. There was no where to run anymore, no where to hide. Every time they met, he could scare her with his threats and insults about how he thought she was an awful headteacher, how everything was her fault; the school, the problems, the failings of anything good and proper. And last time, he had overstepped the line by blaming her personal life for the continued distractions.

He was standing, his smirk having melted into last minute, a look of passionate anger and seriousness roaming his features. He stood three feet away from her, as not to invoke an action that for which he could possibly be sued for,

'You are a failure, and this school is a failure, and rest assured, if you don't pull it together soon, it will be closed!' he shouted vehemently, smiling inwardly at her shivering form.

Looking through the small window of her office, Rob was leaning on a kind of half broom-half mop device, staring intently at the scene going on inside of Karen's office. When that idiot that had started advancing towards her, he had literally had to clamp down his wrist to prevent himself from going into the room and slapping the bastard. But now, he was shouting. Rob couldn't decipher exactly what was being said, but when he stole a glance towards Karen, and saw her trembling and quivering, he kicked the door open violently and entered.

He power walked over to Karen and stood in front of her, creating a barrier between the LA representative and the headmistress, 'Oi, leave off her sunshine,' he growled in a low voice, quite vehemently and viciously, his voice alive with bottled up fury.

Karen looked at Rob with wide eyes when he turned around to make sure she was okay, and her eyes were desperately pleading with him not to do anything stupid. He rubbed her arm soothingly, before Richard Whitman annoyingly piped up in the background,

'And so you would be the infamous Rob Scotcher? Well, I and the board have certainly heard a lot about you.' He stared strangely, like he was daring Rob to make the next, sudden movement. Ignoring Karen tugging on his arm slightly, attempting to yank him back towards her, Rob took four strides forwards so he was standing face to face with Richard. He was standing so close that Rob could see the little beads of moisture appearing quickly on his forehead and beginning to roll down his temples,

'You want to watch it mate, or Karen won't be the only one you'll be getting an earful from,' he whispered, cracking his knuckles suggestively, raising an eyebrow intimidatingly.

Karen sighed out in disbelief at the scene in front of her: two men, arguing; typical. She was half surprised that they hadn't started bare knuckle fighting each other yet. But she could not put into words how grateful she was that Rob had appeared when he did. One more hit from that horrid man would've shattered her. Each time he came, she had to wear the disguise, not let her mask crack, but each and every time, all the pretences of her confidence was dropping and washing away.

'Rob, I wasn't giving him an earful!' she said, quite offended by his comment. Rob broke eye contact with Richard, who looked quite terrified at how tall and strong the caretaker was, and quickly strolled over to Karen. He felt rather like a yoyo, back and forth between the two, the one he loved (well, that was a whole other story, for a whole other day) and the one who dared to threaten her.

He held Karen gently by the shoulders, and raised his right hand and slowly moved a stray piece of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear, and sliding his fingers along her jaw until they reached her chin, which he gently lifted up so that she would have no choice but to look at him, 'I know you weren't, it was just part of my hard-man talk,' he muttered into her ear, causing a small giggle to fall from her lips.

However, the severity of the situation once again flooded and invaded her head, and, looking directly into his eyes, she said, quite clearly, 'Well thanks Rob, but I've got it from here.' She attempted to wriggle from his grip (whilst he was talking, his hands had gradually transferred uncomfortably to her waist), but, forgetting about Richard Whitman stood in her office, Rob said, in an accusatory tone, 'But this wasn't your fault, none of it!'

This was all so unjustified, why was Karen being made to feel like she was a failure? It wasn't her fault, she was one of the best things that had ever happened to Waterloo Road: kind and compassionate, there for the kids when they needed her, confident and straight talking, taking no nonsense from anybody. She was so brilliant, but the board didn't like her that much, so what the hell was she going to do?

Her heart pounding in her chest, Karen replied, 'I have to take and accept the consequences of my actions though.'

'But you haven't done anything wrong!' Rob said, his voice rising to a crescendo of impatience and defence. Richard, who had been standing and acting as an onlooker of the lovers tiff, groaned out in annoyance and realization, and went on to say, in an explanatory and patronizing tone,

'This is why this school is going downhill. The headmistress and the caretaker are too busy arguing and flirting to give a damn!' he yelled, breaking the moment ever so slightly. He turned his attention to Karen and gave her a hard, steely glare that froze her insides, 'You are a disgrace to your profession, and a disgrace to this school and the entire system of education!'

The crumbling china teapot had been utterly smashed.

Rob raged forwards, grabbed Richard by the collar and slammed him furiously against the wall, causing him to smack his head, 'Don't you dare speak to Karen like that, don't ever think you've got the authority to try and belittle her because she is so much better than you ever will be!' he roared defeaningly, shaking Richard by the shoulders, scaring him almost to death. Rob's arm was constricting his throat slightly, and Richard choked and tried to stutter out, before Karen ran forwards and, using all of her strength, prised Rob off him, and left Richard to fall to the floor.

'Rob, what are you doing? You could lose your job doing things like that!' she hissed in his ear, ignoring the small smile that was becoming more apparent and visible on his face. She was currently, and she had failed to notice, holding his hand at this point,

'No one had the right to speak to you like that!' Rob muttered, feeling slightly anxious and nervous about what he had just done, trying to find a worthy excuse for his actions. He shuffled awkwardly under her touch,

'No, they don't but that was reckless and foolish, and this won't end well for you Rob,' she said concernedly, trying to plead with him, to make him realize the insanity of his actions.

Richard slowly fumbled for his briefcase and pulled himself up via Karen's desk. He glared at her and then at Rob, blood seeping slightly from a crack on his lips, his hair and clothes looking distinctly ruffled, 'You've got a week to fix this Karen. If you don't, I'm closing this school down.' He swept from the office, almost running out of fear of what Rob would do to him if he stayed in that office for much longer.

When the door swung shut, crashing loudly in the wooden frame, Karen breathed out heavily and shut her eyes tightly, half praying that it had all been just a kind of horrifying nightmare. But when she cautiously opened her left eye, she was still stood in her office, standing awkwardly in Rob's grip. Her fingers were laced loosely within his and though it felt oddly comforting, she removed her hand from his and walked round to her chair. She slowly sunk into it and laid her head backwards in exhaustion, completely forgetting about the man with whom she had just been holding hands with. This was all going to come back and bite her and rest assured that when it did, it wasn't going to be at all pretty. She appreciated, on quite a low level if she was honest, what Rob had done, shielding her and sticking up for her like that, but the consequences were going to be so severe that Karen wasn't quite sure of whether or not she would be able to take it.

'Thanks for …everything Rob,' she whimpered out quite weakly, 'But could you please just leave me alone?'

If she had been looking closely, Karen would've seen a glimmer of hopelessness becoming apparent of Rob's handsome features, but she didn't and so was thoroughly surprised when he replied, bluntly as a broken knife, 'No.'

Taken aback by his refusal to get out of her office, she sat up straighter in her chair, leant her elbows on her desk and responded with a very disbelieving and rather hesitant, 'Excuse me?'

Rob took several strides forwards and lowered himself into the chair opposite Karen's desk. Rob was now quite sure that he had completely messed everything up, but wasn't that what you were supposed to do when someone was hurting someone you lo…Well, let's not go _there_ just quite yet.

Even though he was feeling guilty, a smile at her reaction reached his lips. He too rested his elbows on her desk in an action of defiance and repeated his earlier response of, 'No.' He enjoyed watching the scandalous expression on her face deepen and it really was rather amusing. No one had ever had the guts to stand up to Karen Fisher, especially when she was in a bad, or, even worse, depressed mood. He tapped his fingers on the table, as a kind of enquiring motion. He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her surely angry response. Instead, her brows knitted together in a kind of furious thinking mode, and she just sighed out, 'Okay then. Just stay.'

Rob was quite shocked by these words, but did not let it show.

They sat togther in a slow burning silence for the next seven minutes. Karen had shut her eyes and leant back in her swivel chair, and Rob was now certain that she was asleep. He stared intently at her, studying her movements and motions. She looked exhausted; her eyes were rimmed with red and grey (from where she had not been sleeping) and her normally full lips were just a thin line now. Worry lines were etched across her forehead and there was a single tear gradually slipping down her left cheek.

He placed his head in his hands. What the hell had he done? I mean, _honestly_, what the hell had he done? He had slammed an LA representative that hated this school and its headmistress already up against a wall and threatened to basically beat him. It had been a ridiculous thing to get so angry about, and now it wasn't even him who would have to pay for it. He could see the headline now _'Headmistress Fails to Keep Lover Caretaker under Control'_. Crap, the LA was going to have a bloody field day on this one. God, they were going to have a field day to Australia and back again with this. He stood from the chair and began to stroll quietly over to the door. She looked so peaceful, so he would just leave her now, and explain and help her out later. As he tapped towards the door, a voice said,

'Where are you going Rob?'

'I thought you were asleep.'

'It's hard to sleep when you're under threat of losing your job, and also when someone is staring at you,' she paused slightly, and looked at him absorbedly and fixedly. Karen shot him a questioning look, and in a tone that was slightly higher than before, she asked, 'Why do you stare at me so much?'

Rob considered her question for several moments, trying to find a way to put his excusem trying to find a way to put his answer that was perfectly appropriate, because the real reason he did stare so much was thoroughly _inappropriate_. After minutes of silence, Karen cleared her throat loudly and hooked an eyebrow in an enquiring manner. Rob's expression was rather blank, but he snapped out of it and sat down again. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, resisting the temptation to stroke his metaphorical beard.

'I suppose,' he began, his voice so quiet it could've been mistaken for a sudden breeze. He threw all caution to the wind and carried on, 'I suppose it's because you fascinate me Karen. Ever since I first met you, you've fascinated me. Just the way you are, it's so different to anything I've ever seen before. You've got guts and spirit and it's just rather enchanting. And you never go down without a fight.'

She glanced at him in incredulity at him, like she could hardly believe what he had just said. She took a few moments to reflect and consider before stuttering out, 'Well, that's a fair excuse.'

He chuckled, that sincerely annoying but utterly charming chuckle, and smiled broadly before cheekily saying, 'Do you want me to stop staring?'

'Not necessarily,' she mumbled quickly, blushing an incredible shade of crimson. She bowed her head embarrasedly, avoiding any kind of eye contact with him. She had probably answered that question a bit hasteningly. She couldn't help it, when she was around him, all she wanted to do was spill all her secrets to him.

Although they were still parted by half a metres worth of desk, Rob slowly crept his hands forwards and gripped Karen's within his own. He looked her in the eyes, and it scared her slightly, how any person could display that amount of emotion and feeling through just their eyes. He held her hands tightly, like if he let go, she would just slip away and fall into nothingness.

Choking slightly on the words spilling from his lips, he carefully and, almost terrified of what she would say, asked, 'Can you give me another chance Karen? I screwed up big time, I know, and I was an idiot, but I don't want to let you go.'

She found herself playing host to a smile that she really did not want, and before even checking with her brain to make sure it was alright, she said, 'I wasn't about to let you go either.'

He rose quietly from his chair and walked over to the other side of the desk. Seeing as he had detached himself from her hands only moments before, he smiled suggestively and leant down a hand to her, wiggling his fingers. She took it sincerely and was gently lifted from her seat by him. She rested her free hand on his shoulder and grinned when he took her waist.

Bringing his lips down to her ear, he whispered, 'We can do this Karen, we can get through this.'

She wasn't sure whether he meant their reltaionship, or the school, but either way, she believed him wholeheartedly. Their lips were parted by only a few milimetres and whenever they spoke, the other could feel one another's breath on their lips. _Oh why was she so irresistible?_ But they had all the time in the world to be together.

Edging even closer in, Rob quietly murmured, 'I missed you,' before he swooped in, one hand on her cheek and neck, the other hugging her waist protectively, and kissed her fully and beautifully on the lips.

Although she had been expecting it, and she had experienced it once before, Karen felt like she had been taken to a whole other world, as clichéd as it sounded. This kiss was even better than the last one, if possible, and she cherished every second that they spent, locked together in this spectacular embrace. It was like someone had let off a set of fireworks inside of her, and all she wanted to do was pul him even closer to her. She smiled during the kiss as his fingers crept through her hair and gently clutched it out of passion. Changing direction suddenly, she tilted her head to the left slightly and tugged at his lips even more tightly. He tasted so tantalizing, mouthwatering, and ignoring the screams in her head, begging her to breathe, she carried on, wrapping her hands around his neck.

When the cries for oxygen reached her lungs and heart, Karen steadily drew away and smiled, as their foreheads collided against one anothers. Of, she could not think of a place she would rather be than here.

X – X – X

When Rob left Karen's office half an hour later, he strolled down the corridor, whistling happily and extraordinarily cheerily, ignoring the suspicious glances he received from students and staff alike. Let them stare, they won't ever figure out what's going on, he thought gleefully. She was so magnificent, and so amazing. He could hardly believe that she had forgiven him, let alone kissed him. And so Rob carried on walking down the corridor, totally oblivious to the lipstick smudged all over his lips.

X – X – X

'Tom, you owe me twenty quid!' Janeece yelled loudly, running into Tom's current English class. The students glanced up from their current works, and looked very confusedly at the teacher, who groaned out in annoyance. Tom stared and cocked an eyebrow,

'Already? I swear it would've been another week. He's got her wrapped around his little finger,' he said grumpily, digging in his pocket for his wallet, not even caring that his class had been interrupted. He took out a twenty and passed it over to Janeece, who pocketed it happily. Whispering slightly, as to not disrupt the class even further, Tom murmured, 'So, what happened then?'

Janeece giggled like a little girl, 'Don't know, but I just saw him walking down the corridor, looking a bit dazed and pratically wearing her lipstick all over his mouth.'

Tom laughed, 'Have you seen Karen yet?'

'Well I looked through the little windo' of her office and she was sat in her chair looked pretty pleased with herself,' Janeece said, becoming louder and louder with every word, her excitement completely taking over, 'Never bet with me again Tom, 'cause I guarantee that you will lose.'


End file.
